Keisha Castle-Hughes: the teenage acting prodigy tells designer Donna Karan what it's like to have your life change overnight and ride a fake whale

Interview, April, 2004 by Donna Karan

DONNA KARAN: Keisha, I wanted to do this interview because I loved Whale Rider.

KEISHA CASTLE-HUGHES: Oh, thank you.

DK: How old are you?

KCH: I'm 14.

DK: I have a granddaughter who's 17. So make believe you're talking to your grandmother.

KCH: All right, then. Cool.

DK: So, you're from New Zealand, but now you're in L.A. Is this your first time there?

KCH: NO, I've been here a couple of times before. I'm going to be here for about a week, and then I'm heading home to New Zealand. I'll come back for the [Academy] awards.

DK: You're the youngest person ever to be nominated for a Best Actress Oscar. Your life must have changed overnight, right? Were you in a state of shock when the Oscar nominations were announced?

KCH: Yeah, a little bit.

DK: I know you're going to lots of nominee stuff. Is this the first time you've been out with a group of other actors?

KCH: It is, yeah. And I'm really excited.

DK: Do you have a favorite?

KCH: Johnny Depp.

DK: Johnny Depp? [laughs] He's mine, too.

KCH: Yeah, I think he's every girl's favorite.

DK: [laughs] No matter how old we are, right?

KCH: Right. My nana, she adores him.

DK: Yeah, he's pretty hot. Anyway, I want to

talk to you about the movie, okay?

KCH: Sure.

DK: There are so many questions I want to ask you. Did you always want to be an actress? Let's start there.

KCH: Yes, ever since I was a little girl I'd always wanted to act, but I looked at it like a dream rather than a career path.

DK: So you never acted before Whale Rider?

KCH: No, I hadn't. I'd always wanted to act, but I never did anything about it.

DK: When you were making the film, did it feel like you were playing a role, or did it feel like you were just being yourself?

KCH: I feel like I was being myself. Even now, when people ask me "What do you think of your acting?" I can't really say anything because it's like I'm watching myself. It's strange.

DK: The film was very emotional on so many levels, and it's also very spiritual. Do you see yourself as a spiritual being?

KCH: I do. I mean, I guess every person is.

DK: How did it feel to ride a whale?

KCH: It wasn't a real whale.

DK: It wasn't? Oh! You're ruining my fantasy!

KCH: Sorry. [laughs] It was made of rubber and latex. It was a whale's back which was connected to the back of a boat, and it was rigged up so that when the boat went fast, the whale's back submerged under the water; and when the boat went slow, its back went above the water. It was very low-tech, but it worked well. And I only did a few of the whale-riding scenes. The other bits were done by my double because I'm not a very good swimmer.

DK: So that's not the part of the movie you liked the best, huh?

KCH: No, it wasn't.

DK: What part did you like best?

KCH: The scenes with my character, Pai, and Uncle Rawiri [Grant Roa], the fat guy, because Pal's having a lot of fun in them.

DK: I really enjoyed the scenes with the dancing and fighting movements with the large sticks. What is that called?

KCH: The sticks are called taiaha. It's from the old days in Maori tradition. The men, the Maori warriors, used to fight each other with them, and the whole purpose of Pal doing it [in the film] is because girls aren't allowed to. Even to this day. When I learned to use taiaha, I found it funny at first. I was like, "I shouldn't be doing this," but I had heaps of support. And we did some Maori chants and things so that it was possible for us to do the fighting.

DK: So these Maori traditions continue today. Do you follow them?

KCH: I do, yes. But it's kind of hard because I live in the city, and I only practice, like, the traditions and things at school when we do Maori performing arts and things like that.

DK: Do you like school? What subjects do you like to study?

KCH: I do like school. My favorite subjects are English and social studies and geography. I find it a lot easier to work with anything that has to do with language because when it comes to math and science, my brain just goes all mushy and I can't retain anything.

DK: Do you miss being at home?

KCH: Yeah. I've only been in L.A. for two days, but I got homesick on the first day.

DK: Can't you take a friend with you? When you come back for the Oscars could you say to a friend, "Hey, why don't you be my date for the Oscars?" Do you have a girlfriend who you could take?

KCH: I do, but we just got off our eight-week summer vacation, so they'll all be in school.

DK: Of course. New Zealand is in the southern hemisphere. Are your brothers or sister going to come back to L.A. with you?

KCH: Yeah. They are.

DK: Are you close with your family?

KCH: I am. My two brothers are just--I mean, we're normal siblings, so I'm excited about them coming, but I'm not excited about them coming.

DK: [laughs] How does your family feel about what's going on right now?

KCH: They're really supportive of everything.

DK: So are there chores you don't have to do anymore now that you're a big star? Like making your bed or washing the dishes?

KCH: [laughs] No, not at all. I still have to do it all.

DK: And how do your classmates respond to you now?